Exercising Device

ABSTRACT

A sporting goods includes a body formed with at least one groove to be fitted to a front of an ankle, wherein a sit-up exercise or lower body training is enabled without settling the body on a certain place. The sporting goods further includes fastening means to fit and fasten a sole of a foot and an ankle thereon when the ankle is placed in the groove; the body is separatable into left and right bodies; and a weight may be inserted in or mounted to the inside or the outside of the body. With this configuration, a user can get various exercises in a stable posture without straining his/her ankle even though the sporting goods is not settled on a floor.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present invention relates to a sporting goods, and more particularly, to a sporting goods enabling a user to do sit-up or to develop muscles of a leg and a thigh easily by himself/herself without any assistor who holds the legs, in which the sporting goods needs not to be fastened on a floor but allows a user to get exercises stably without straining his/her ankle.

BACKGROUND ART

Due to development of transportation, modern people are very lacking in exercise of a relatively lower body, thereby causing a lot of diseases and weakening strength.

As an indoor exercise for training the lower body, there are two representative exercises: one is sit-up that strengthens the lower body and abdominal muscles, and the other is bending and stretching a knee while feet are held by athletic equipment of predetermined weight.

In general, a sit-up sporting goods for training the lower body and the abdominal muscles has a structure that the feet are placed and fastened on the equipment of predetermined weight.

Such a sporting goods is common in the prior art, and most of them are provided in the form of being settled on a floor even though there is a little structural difference therebetween.

DISCLOSURE OF INVENTION Technical Problem

As described above, the floor-settling type of the sporting goods such as the sit-up equipment shifts the center of gravity to a lower side of the ankle and the sole of the foot, so that it is unstable and inconvenient to use because the feet are fastened by vertically applied weight. Further, since the sole of the foot is maintained in parallel with the ground, there is a problem of straining an excessively bowed ankle part.

Further, the conventional sporting goods such as the sit-up equipment is so bulky that there is a difficulty in carriage and management. On the other hand, even if the sporting goods is small, a settling unit is additionally needed for settling it on the floor, thereby causing inconvenience to use and increasing production costs. Also, there is a shortcoming in that the use of the conventional sporting goods is limited to only the sit-up exercise.

Meanwhile, there is an effective exercise for strengthening the thigh and calf muscles, in which a user makes action of bending and stretching the knee while sitting on a chair. Accordingly, athletic equipment for this exercise has been developed in the form similar to a power buckle used as a weight. However, in this case, the use of this athletic equipment is limited to only this exercise, and thus there is a problem in that effects due to various exercises are not expected. The present invention is conceived to solve the foregoing problems, and an aspect of the present invention is to allow a user to get a sit-up exercise in a stable posture without straining his/her ankle even though sporting goods is not fastened on a floor.

Another aspect of the present invention is to provide sporting goods of enabling various exercises.

Still another aspect of the present invention is to enable effective weight adjustment in consideration of a user's strength and weight.

Yet another aspect of the present invention is to apply a pack to an ankle part.

Technical Solution

An aspect of the present invention may be achieved by providing a sporting goods including a body formed with at least one groove to be fitted to a front of an ankle, wherein a sit-up exercise or lower body training is enabled without settling the body on a certain place. Further, the groove is provided with a flexible and elastic cushion.

Further, the sporting goods may further include a sole fastening means to fit and fasten a sole of a foot thereon when the ankle is placed in the groove. The sole fastening means may include a fastening band capable of supporting a middle of the sole transversely or a fastening member coupled as being sealed up except an entrance of inserting the foot to surround and support the front part of the sole.

Also, the sporting goods may further include an ankle fastening means to surround and support a rear of the ankle when the ankle is placed in the groove. The ankle fastening means may include a fastening band to surround and support the rear of the ankle.

Further, the body may include two grooves at one side thereof, and left and right bodies formed with the grooves, respectively, and capable of being separated from and coupled to each other.

Also, the body may include a hollow part, and a tap at one side thereof so that the hollow part can be filled with water or sand. The body may include a space in which a weight is inserted, so that at least one weight can be inserted in the space. At least one weight can be mounted to and separated from one side of the body.

ADVANTAGEOUS EFFECTS

As described above, a user can get a sit-up exercise in a stable posture without straining his/her ankle even though a sporting goods is not settled on a floor, so that it is convenient to use, results in an effective exercise, and motivate a user to get exercises.

Further, various exercises are enabled, thereby having effects on strengthening diverse parts and getting rid of flab around the lower body and abdominal. Also, a heavy weight can be added in case of little effect of exercise and for an overweight person, so that it is possible to exercise more step by step as muscular strength is improved.

Besides, a pack function for an ankle part is additionally provided, thereby stimulating circulation of blood.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIGS. 1 through 9 show a sporting goods according to a first exemplary embodiment of the present invention.

FIGS. 10 through 16 show a sporting goods according to a second exemplary embodiment of the present invention.

FIGS. 17 and 18 illustrate use of the sporting goods according to the first exemplary embodiment of the present invention.

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION

Below, a configuration and an operation of the present invention will be described with reference to accompanying drawings in detail for easy understanding and embodiment of those skilled in the art. In the drawings, like numerals refer to like elements throughout.

FIGS. 1 through 16 show a sporting goods according to the present invention, and the sporting goods shown in FIGS. 1 through 9 is different in an embodiment from that shown in FIGS. 10 through 16. Further, FIGS. 17 and 18 illustrate use of the sporting goods according to the first exemplary embodiment of the present invention.

The conventional sit-up sporting goods has a structure to be settled on a floor and support an ankle, but the sporting goods according to the present invention is conceived to have a simple structure that naturally supports the ankle by its own weight and enables sit-up or like exercises without being settled on the floor.

In more detail, as shown in FIGS. 1, 2, 3 and 10, the sporting goods according to the present invention includes a body 1 formed with at least one groove 11 to be fitted to a front of the ankle, and enables the sit-up exercise and lower body training without being settled on a certain place. FIGS. 1 and 10 show the sporting goods having two grooves 11 to be fitted to both the ankles, respectively (refer to FIG. 17 with regard to use of this). On the other hand, FIG. 2 shows a sporting goods having a single groove 11 to be fitted to one ankle. In general, the width of the groove 11 formed in the sporting goods according to the present invention is large enough to be fitted to one ankle, i.e., as much as the width of one ankle (refer to FIGS. 1, 2 and 10). Alternatively, as shown in FIG. 3, the width of the groove 11 may be two times larger than that of one ankle so that two ankles can be all fit to the single groove 11.

Referring to FIGS. 1 through 9 and 10 through 16, the body of the sporting goods may have various shapes as long as it does not depart from the technical scope of the present invention.

The sporting goods has a predetermined weight or more to support a part around the ankle so that the sit-up exercise is enabled without settling the body 1 on the certain place. Further, the groove 11 formed in the body 1 has a shape corresponding to the front of the ankle and elasticity to be fit to and closely contact the ankle. Further, a cushion having flexibility and elasticity may be added to the groove 11 of the body 1, thereby protecting the ankle and being in close contact with the ankle when the ankle is fitted to the groove 11.

FIG. 4 shows the cushion 12 having the flexibility and elasticity, which is mounted to the groove 11 of the body 1. The cushion 12 is mounted to the groove 11 by adhesive or the like. Alternatively, as shown in FIGS. 4 and 5, the groove 11 and the cushion 12 may have coupling parts 109 and 129 to be coupled to each other, respectively. The cushion 12 prevents the ankle from feeling a pain and being chafed due to pressure when the ankle is in close contact with the groove 11. Further, the groove 11 of the body 1 has an ergonomic shape corresponding to the ankle and the instep. In addition, the cushion 12 is transformed corresponding to the shape of a user's ankle, and placed between the ankle and the body to adjust the load of the ankle by adjusting the load of the body.

As described above, the sporting goods according to the present invention has a simple structure that naturally supports the ankle by its own weight, so that it is not only convenient to carry and manage but also applied to various exercises besides the sit-up since the foot is movable as being fastened to the sporting goods.

Further, the sporting goods according to the present invention has the groove formed in the body so as to be fitted to and closely contact the front of the ankle, and thus enables the sit-up exercise and the lower body training as being fit to both the ankles without a separate fastening means (to be described later). Particularly, because the body is not settled on the certain place as compared with the conventional sporting goods, a user can get effective exercises without straining the ankle or the instep.

As shown in FIGS. 8 through 10 and 13 through 15, the sporting goods according to the present invention may further include fastening means 2 and 3 to fasten the ankle or a sole when the ankle is positioned in the groove 11.

First, the fastening means 2 for the sole may have various shapes as long as it can support the sole when the sole is fitted. As shown in FIGS. 6, 8 and 11, the fastening means 2 for the sole may be achieved by a fastening band 2 capable of supporting a middle of the sole transversely when the ankle is placed in the groove 11 of the body 1. Alternatively, as shown in FIG. 12, the fastening means 2 may be achieved by a fastening member 2 having a shape that coupled as being sealed up except an entrance of inserting the foot in order to surround and support the front part of the sole.

Such a sole fastening band or a sole fastening member is made of a flexible and resilient material so that the sole can be not only easily fitted to and taken out from the fastening band or member but also be in close contact with and fastened to the fastening band or member when the sole is fitted to the fastening band or member. Here, opposite ends of the fastening band may be fixed to the body, or one or both ends thereof may be detachably provided in the body through the coupling parts. The coupling part may be achieved in the various shapes of a hook, a button, a detachable tape, and the like.

Then, the fastening means for the ankle may have various shapes as long as it can support the ankle when the groove of the body is fitted to the front of the ankle.

As shown in FIGS. 7 through 9 and 11 through 13, the fastening means for the ankle may be achieved by a fastening band 3 that surrounds and supports a rear of the ankle when the ankle is placed in the groove 11 of the body 1.

Here, one or opposite ends of the fastening band may be fixed to the body, or one or both ends thereof may be detachably provided in the body through the coupling parts. Further, two fastening bands may have first ends fixed to the body and second ends provided with coupling parts, so that two fastening bands can be coupled and decoupled through the coupling parts. The coupling part may be achieved in the various shapes of a hook, a button, a detachable tape, and the like.

FIG. 7 shows a configuration that both ends of the fastening band 3 are fixed to the body. Further, FIGS. 8 and 9 show a configuration that each one end of two fastening bands 3 is fixed to the body. Also, FIGS. 11 and 12 show a configuration that each one end of two fastening bands 3 is fixed to the body and the other ends thereof are provided with the coupling parts 15, respectively, so that two fastening bands 3 can be coupled to each other. FIG. 13 show a configuration that a single band has one end fixed to the body and the other end detachably coupled to the body.

According to the present invention, the ankle fastening means is made of a flexible and resilient material so that it can closely contact and fasten the ankle when surrounding and supporting the ankle.

In the sporting goods according to the present invention, as shown in FIG. 13, the body 1 has a hollow part (refer to 13 of FIG. 11) and a tap 14 at one side thereof, so that the hollow part 13 can be filled with water, sand or the like. With this configuration, a user can easily adjust the weight of the body as desired. Further, if the body is filled with hot contents, it serves as a pack applied to an ankle part of modern people having an inborn or acquired weak-ankle and stimulates the circulation of the blood.

In this case, the body is made of a material capable of transferring heat from water or sand filled therein. Generally, a thermosetting synthetic resin may be used for the body. Also, the body may be made of a soft material as well as a hard material for maintaining a constant shape, so that the shape of the body may be partially varied according to the filled material.

FIG. 14 is an exploded perspective view of the sporting goods according to another exemplary embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 18 illustrates use of two sporting goods shown in FIG. 14. As shown in FIG. 14, the body of the sporting goods formed with two grooves 11 may be separated into left and right bodies Ia and Ib which have the grooves 11, respectively, and are detachably coupled to each other. The left and right bodies Ia and Ib may be coupled and decoupled by various coupling parts between coupling sides thereof. For example, the left and right bodies Ia and Ib may be coupled and decoupled by convex and concave parts which are formed on the respective coupling sides and fitted to each other; a detachable tape; a separate coupling member; etc.

In this embodiment of the sporting goods having left and right bodies, the sole fastening means 2 and the ankle fastening means 3 may be achieved variously as described above. By way of example, FIG. 14 shows that each coupling side of the left and right bodies Ia and Ib is formed with a band coupling part 17 a for reference, a counterpart 17 b is not shown), and a left fastening band 3 a and a right fastening band 3 b are adjustable in length and coupled to the band coupling parts 17 a and 17 b, respectively, so that left and right ankles can be fastened to the left and right bodies Ia and Ib, respectively. In the case that the left and right bodies are separated and the left and right fastening bands 3 a and 3 b are coupled to the band coupling parts 17 a and 17 b, the coupling part (15, referring to FIGS. 11 and 12) is removed from the fastening band. Besides that shown in FIG. 14, the band coupling part may have various shapes such as a button type, a detachable tape type, etc.

Such a body which can be coupled or separated enables various exercises. For example, as shown in FIG. 18, a user can wear the left and right bodies like a gaiter or a power buckle and get walking exercise. Further, as an alternative exercise of raising up both the feet with respect to a knee while sitting on a chair, the body which can be coupled or separated enables an exercise of raising up the feet alternately. For example, a user can work a pedal in the state that the upper body, i.e., the back leans on the ground and the legs are raised upward. Thus, various exercises are enabled.

Meanwhile, a weight adjustable means may be provided in the sporting goods according to the present invention. As shown in FIGS. 9, 15 and 16, a weight 4, 4<1> may be mounted to and separated from the inside or the outside of the body 1 so that the weight of the body 1 can be adjusted.

FIG. 9 shows the inside of the sporting goods. As shown therein, the body 1 is formed with a space in which the weight 4 is inserted (e.g., a circular space formed in center, left and right parts), so that at least one weight 4 can be inserted in the space. Also, FIG. 15 shows a weight-insertable configuration according to another embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 16 illustrates that the weight 4′ can be mounted to and separated from the outside of the body 1. As shown therein, the body 1 and the weight 4′ are provided with mounting means, respectively, so that the weight 4′ can be mounted to and separated from the body.

At this time, the weight 4, 4′ may include a plurality of various weights, and be made of metal, wood, or the like. In general, metal is preferable. Particularly, lead is preferable since it has relatively high density, and thus decreases the size of the body 1. Further, the plurality of weights may be attached to and detached from each other in order to adjust the weight of the body 1 variously. The joint structure between the weight and the body or between the weights may be achieved by a general screw or bolt; dovetailed groove and projection; or the like. Such a joint structure is well known and therefore the detailed descriptions thereof will be omitted.

The sporting goods according to the present invention provides a weight-adjustable function so that the effect of exercise can be improved by allowing a user to adjust the weight as desired. In particular, since the sporting goods according to the present invention uses a principle of fastening the ankle by its own weight without being settled on the floor for the sit-up exercise, various weights are enabled when the weight has to be added for strengthening the abdominal muscles.

FIGS. 17 and 18 illustrate the use of the sporting goods according to the present invention.

First, referring to FIG. 17, a user sits down while bending the knee at a place proper to the sit-up exercise, and wears the sporting goods according to the present invention. At this time, the groove 11 is in close contact with the front of the ankle, and the sole fastening band is placed on the middle of the sole of the foot, thereby fastening the sole on the body 1. Then, a user holds the left and right fastening bands 3, and fastens the ankle with two fastening bands 3 behind the ankle or couples the coupling parts while adjusting the length of the fastening bands 3 if the coupling parts are provided in the fastening bands 3, thereby fastening the ankle on the body 1. After wearing the sporting goods, the user gets the sit-up exercise by raising up the back while keeping the ankle on the ground. To more firmly fastening the ankle, the left and right fastening bands 3 may be wound once or several times and then coupled to each other.

Also, as shown in FIG. 13, in the case where the single band is used as the ankle fastening band, a user holds the ankle fastening band 3 in one hand and winds it once or several times behind the ankle to be coupled to an opposite-side coupling part, thereby fastening the ankle on the body 1. Thus, the sole and the ankle are fastened to the body 1.

In the exercise using the sporting goods according to the present invention, the ankle part is naturally pressed by the center of gravity, so that a user can get the exercise more naturally as compared with the manner of forcibly fastening the foot on the ground. In particular, because the ankle is hardly bowed, the sporting goods according to the present invention has an advantageous of rarely straining the ankle.

Further, using the sporting goods in whole body twist, i.e., a physical exercise that a user raises up the lower body and then moves it left and right in a lying position, or the like exercise, if the inside and the outside of a thigh and the knee as well as the waist are trained, there is an effect on strengthening the calf muscles and getting rid of flab. Thus, the sporting goods according to the present invention can be easily used without distinction of age or sex.

Also, the sporting goods according to the present invention can be used for training an arm or the upper body as well as for training the lower body. For example, the sporting goods according to the present invention may be used in a dumbbell exercise of various positions. In other words, a user holds the sporting goods according to the present invention in a single hand or a pair of hands like a dumbbell, and lowers and raises it up and down or bends and stretches the arm behind a neck, thereby training the arm or the upper body. At this time, the dumbbell exercise may be performed with the adjustable weight of the sporting goods by adding or coupling the foregoing weight.

In the meantime, if the sporting goods according to the present invention has the single groove 11 as shown in FIGS. 4 and 8, or sepratable left and right bodies Ia and Ib as shown in FIG. 14, a user can wear two sporting goods in the left and right feet in the foregoing manner, and get exercise of walking, running, etc. Further, a user can get an exercise of raising up both the feet and rasing up the feet alternately with respect to a knee while sitting on a chair. For example, a user can work a pedal in the state that the upper body, i.e., the back leans on the ground and the legs are raised upward. Thus, various exercises are enabled. As described above, various exemplary embodiments have been described with the drawings and the specifications. For reference, terms employed herein are not used for narrowing the meaning and limiting the scope of the invention. Accordingly, it will be appreciated by those skilled in the art that changes may be made in these exemplary embodiments without departing from the principles and spirit of the invention, the scope of which is defined in the appended claims and their equivalents.

INDUSTRIAL APPLICABILITY

According to the present invention, the sporting goods for training the lower body and getting the sit-up exercise can be used as not only home use equipment for ordinary people but also professional equipment for a athlete. 

1. A sporting goods comprising a body formed with at least one groove to be fitted to a front of an ankle, wherein a sit-up exercise or lower body training is enabled without settling the body on a certain place.
 2. The sporting goods according to claim 1, wherein the groove comprises a flexible and elastic cushion.
 3. The sporting goods according to claim 1, further comprising a sole fastening means to fit and fasten a sole of a foot thereon when the ankle is placed in the groove.
 4. The sporting goods according to claim 3, wherein the sole fastening means comprises a fastening band capable of supporting a middle of the sole transversely.
 5. The sporting goods according to claim 3, wherein the sole fastening means comprises a fastening member coupled as being sealed up except an entrance of inserting the foot to surround and support the front part of sole.
 6. The sporting goods according to claim 1, further comprising an ankle fastening means to surround and support a rear of the ankle when the ankle is placed in the groove.
 7. The sporting goods according to claim 6, wherein the ankle fastening means comprises a fastening band to surround and support the rear of the ankle.
 8. The sporting goods according to claim 1, wherein the body comprises two grooves at one side thereof, and left and right bodies formed with the grooves, respectively, and capable of being separated from and coupled to each other.
 9. The sporting goods according to claim 1, wherein the body comprises a hollow part, and a tap at one side thereof so that the hollow part can be filled with water or sand.
 10. The sporting goods according to claim 1, wherein the body comprises a space in which a weight is inserted, so that at least one weight can be inserted in the space.
 11. The sporting goods according to claim 1, wherein at least one weight can be mounted to and separated from one side of the body.
 12. The sporting goods according to claim 1, further comprising an ankle fastening means to surround and support a rear of the ankle when the ankle is placed in the groove. 